Franklin
The story
Franklin comes from the Middle English frankelin, a freeman, a landholder who owned his ground without owing service to a lord, a solidly independent figure in medieval England. In America the name belongs above all to two giants. Benjamin Franklin, the printer, scientist and founder who pulled lightning from the sky and helped write a nation, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led the country through depression and war. Both stamped the name with a very American mix of self-reliance and public spirit. In the United States Franklin was a favorite in Franklin Roosevelt's own era and reads as recognizable now as it did then, quietly at home among revived presidential names. Dignified and free by definition, Franklin gives a child a founder, a president and a plain old promise of standing on your own ground.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Franklin peaked in the 1930s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
16,334 people · the #1,214 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 12,500 · median age 34
Among people named Franklin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, roughly as many were born in the 1980s as in the 1990s, more than in any other decade.
The census also counted 158 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Franklin
People given the name Franklin in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Franklin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Franklin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Franklin fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Franklin travels
Chinese American · A dignified English classic used in Chinese American families, especially during the Roosevelt era.
Keep exploring
Names like Franklin · Nicknames for Franklin · Chinese American baby names
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